Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?

Friday, February 03, 2012

Dan McGowan, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

Who’s Hot

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Jack Reed -> Kudos to Senator Reed for co-sponsoring the legislation that would end insider trading by members of Congress, which overwhelmingly passed the Senate this week. It’s a shame that it won’t change the fact that too many politicians in Washington got rich doing what regular people would likely be thrown in prison for, but this is a step in the right direction.

Sheldon Whitehouse -> The Senator likely won back some progressives who were unhappy with his support for the Protect IP Act with his legislation that calls on millionaires to pay at least 30 percent in taxes. It’s a bill that has very little chance of passing, but it should probably shore up Democratic support as his re-election campaign begins to take form. For the record, Whitehouse joined Reed in co-sponsoring the STOCK Act to ban insider trading in Congress.

Barry Hinckley -> Speaking of that Senate campaign, the Republican candidate picked up a big win this week when he hired John Loughlin to serve as executive director of the campaign. Hiring Loughlin adds another experienced politician to Hinckley’s team; he’s a guy who has connections in Washington and understands how to run an operation.

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Deborah Gist -> Education was the big winner in the Governor’s budget proposal, with nearly $40 million in additional funding being dedicated to cities and towns for schools. The Commissioner and Lincoln Chafee may have butted heads early, but it seems she has won him over even if they have different philosophies when it comes to education reform.

Achievement First -> After all those hearings and all the rhetoric that came from both sides during the debate, the organization was finally approved the open a Mayoral Academy in Providence. No one believes they’re the silver bullet – not even them, by the way – but Achievement First will be a good experiment for the city.

Dawson Hodgson -> The Republican State Senator is proposing term limits in the General Assembly to prevent politicians from spending their entire careers on Smith Hill. The plan would allow Senators to serve two four-year terms and Representatives to serve four two-year terms. It’s a bill unlikely to pass, but it’s certainly worth taking a look at.

Scott Slater & John Tassoni -> These two lawmakers deserve credit for going to bat for the homeless once again this session. It was a shame to see the Neighborhood Opportunities Program (NOP) not included in the Governor’s original budget and here’s hoping Rep. Slater and Sen. Tassoni can restore that funding.

Who’s Not

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Providence -> With the city facing a $30 million deficit in the current fiscal year and projected deficits for the next five years, the “B” word is being thrown around more and more. It’s worth taking a look at all other avenues first, but if the city can’t reform its pension system, bankruptcy might be the only option.

Lincoln Chafee -> The last thing anybody wanted to hear in the Governor’s budget was a tax increase, even if it was significantly lower than last year’s plan. The problem for Lincoln Chafee this year is going to be that no legislator wants to say they voted for a tax hike on anything in an election year.

Rhode Island’s Restaurants -> If education was the biggest winner in the Chafee budget, your favorite restaurant was the biggest loser. And you know who gets screwed the worst of all? Those working in the service industry, who will have to deal with angry customers who can’t understand why prices have increased and who then decide to leave less of a tip as though the server is to blame.

Redistricting -> The sleazy, disgusting process that brought out the worst in our politicians is finally over after the General Assembly overwhelmingly supported the final bill. This is one of those issues that will largely be forgotten in six months, but if you ever wanted to see a reason why average people dislike politics, this was it.

ACLU -> To come in and request $173,000 in legal fees from a city that has cut so many school programs to the bone is flat out wrong. You took on the battle over the Cranston prayer banner and you won. Stop trying to add insult to injury.

Bank of America -> It’s been a bad year for the bank’s image nationally with thousands of layoffs and that horrible attempt to increase fees. Now the bank is going to take a major hit locally when it leaves the Superman building. Here’s hoping someone steps in convinces the bank to stay.

Providence Schools -> When 37 percent of all students are missing about a month of school, something is wrong. It’s time to make addressing absenteeism the top priority, because if kids aren’t in school, the best teachers in the world can’t help.
 

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